Estuary
by Sarah the nerd
Summary: Melody Pond grows up with her parents.
1. Sunrise

**Sunrise**

_New York, 1970_

Nightfall found her in an alleyway, wrapped in a man's jacket, inside a box. She was clutching a heat device which hadn't been invented yet, and reading in the orange glow.

A man in a long grey coat was crouched down next to her.

"How are you _surviving_, out here?" he said. He wasn't the sort of man to be awed, but he was awed at her. "It's so dangerous for a little girl."

"I'm okay," said the child. "I got enough money to buy food. People give me quite a lot, they feel sorry for me."

"But not sorry enough to take you in," the man said.

"I don't want to be taken in. I'd be worse off. People don't like my skin colour," she said calmly, "and I know how bad orphanages are."

"How old are you?"

"Three."

The man whistled. "But you're a bit Timelord. Did you make that?" He pointed to the device in her hand.

"Yeah."

"You're good. You're very good. And your name is Melody Pond, right?"

"Yeah." She suddenly dropped her book, and turned to him, eyes glowing intensely. "Are you...are you my dad?"

The man laughed sadly. "No. No. I'm not anyone's dad anymore. My name is Jack. But I know where your parents are. And I know you want to meet them. If you come with me, I can take you to them. And you can stay with them, for as long as you like."

"I can't be raised by my parents. I never can be. This...woman I know, she told me. I cried," she added matter-of-factly.

"There's a way around everything," Jack said. "I can take you back to when they were children. Just a little older than you. You can grow up there, in their home town, safe and happy. Like...like you were their sister. Or something."

Melody stared up at him. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I've been hanging around here for some time," Jack said, "and I don't like seeing a little girl grow up alone."

"You're not the Doctor?" she demanded. "You sound like he would sound."

"Who's the Doctor?"

Melody narrowed her eyes at him, but Jack's face seemed honest. She picked her book back up and turned to the back cover, and withdrew a blue envelope.

"My parents are in Britain," she said. "I always knew they were from Britain. I tried to find out as much as I could. I spent so long reading newspapers..."

"Let's go to Britain, then," Jack said, and he held out his arm. Melody carefully placed the envelope in her pocket and then turned to a battered carrier bag in the corner. Inside she put a muddy yellow dress, two unlabelled cans of food, and her book.

"Whatcha reading?" Jack asked.

"_The Chronicles of Narnia_."

Jack laughed. "Just wait til you discover _Harry Potter_."

Melody took his arm. They vanished in a crackle of light. 

* * *

><p><em>Leadworth, spring, 1996<em>

"That was time travel," Melody said to Jack in an authoritive tone. "Cheap and nasty time travel."

"You're a right little madam, you are."

Melody let go of his arm and looked around. It was night, and the streetlights were on. To her left was a school, and to her right, a sign reading _Welcome to Leadworth_, surrounded by flowers.

"I know the name Leadworth," she said. "I dunno where from. But I know it." She reached out towards the flowers, and stared at a sunflower as if she'd never seen one before. Jack realised she probably hadn't.

"This is where your parents grew up," he said. "Nice, right?"

"Yeah," Melody said. "Yeah, it's nice. It smells good."

"Good! Melody, d'ya know your parent's names?"

Melody closed her eyes. She was thinking hard, but to Jack it just looked like she was immeasureably sad. "Amelia Pond," she said. "And Rory Williams is my dad. I remember. I remember being a baby and Mum was talking. She was very beautiful and very clever. And my dad was a...a soldier. Or a healer. Or both." She looked right through Jack. "Not everyone remembers being a baby, do they? I'm the only one."

"It's cos you're part Timelord."

Melody reached into her pocket and took the envelope out. She took out a photograph of a woman and a baby. "This was in the orphanage when I was growing up. That's her. That's my mum, and that's me."

"She is very hot...pretty," Jack said approvingly.

They walked down the road. Melody reached for Jack's hand, but he withdrew it. He started pressing buttons on a device on his wrist.

"Amelia Pond lives in that house," he said, and pointed to a house at the end of the road. It was huge, with a tree and a swing and a broken shed. Melody walked, as if in a trance, towards the swing.

"Don't make too much noise," Jack warned. "Amy and her parents are asleep."

"A-my," breathed Melody, barely aware she was stopped by the swing, pushed it, and it moved without making a sound. She sat down. "Jack, push me."

"If you haven't noticed, Mels, I'm not great with kids."

Melody scowled at him and started to swing herself, pushing her feet against the ground, scraping the mud off her boots. Gradually she gained height. "You called me Mels," she said. "I like it. It makes me sound like there's more than one of me."

"Uh-huh," Jack said, watching her glumly. "We haven't got all night, y'know."

"If you don't like kids, why are you doing this for me?"

"Because," Jack said in exasperation, "once I saw you in New York, and knew you were half Timelord, I knew I had to help you. What if someone had caught you...doing Timelordy things? They'd think you were a Soviet weapon or something."

Melody looked like she was about to say something, but then a light went on in the house, and she dived from the swing and rolled behind a bush. Jack stayed where he was.

"S'alright," he whispered. "Just someone getting a drink or something."

Melody stared intently at the window. The figure of a little girl could just be made out, a tiny creature bundled in a dressing gown, holding a teddy-

"_Mummy_. Mum."

Melody moved out from behind the bush, and at the same time, little Amelia went to the window. Jack stepped behind a tree, but Melody remained where she was. Standing so still in the darkness, she could barely be seen, and Amelia didn't notice her. For a long moment, Melody stared up at her mother.

And then Amelia turned away; the lights went out, and Melody continued to stare and then suddenly swiped at her face. It didn't work, the tears kept coming, and finally she sank to the ground, crying. Jack stood by her side, and awkwardly patted her shoulder.

"C'mon, Mels. It's okay."

"That's the first time I've seen her since..." She trailed off. "For so long!"

"I know, I know. But now you'll see her every day. Wanna see your dad?"

"Uh-huh."

"Come along, then, Mels." He helped her up and even took her hand as they walked away.

"Why is Mum's- Amy's shed broken?" Melody asked as they left.

"No idea, Mels." 

* * *

><p>They walked down a long, dusty road. The sun was coming up, and they could see a sign pointing the way to <em>Grainger Hill Farm<em>.

"Dad lives on a farm?" Melody asked.

"He does now, yeah."

Melody ran on ahead a little.

"Don't make an entrance," Jack called. "They'll be awake now. Feeding chickens and whatnot. Mels!"

But she was running, and she reached the fence at the end of the road. Up a small hill was a farmhouse, and dotted around were sheep, pigs and cows.

"I've never seen a farm before," Melody said in amazement, as Jack caught up to her. "There's so much stuff!"

Jack nodded. Melody was about to speak again, when a shout echoed through the air. It was something incredibly rude, and although Melody jumped, she didn't flinch at the language.

"What was that?" she asked.

A man stormed out of a nearby barn, dressed in paint-splattered trousers and t-shirt. Another shout, this one from a woman and equally rude, echoed through the air. Jack covered Melody's ears, but she shook him off. The man stormed around the side of the barn and was gone.

"Who was that?" Melody demanded. "And why are people fighting, _here_? It's beautiful here!"

Jack didn't answer the last question. "I think, ur, that was your grandad." A small boy suddenly emerged from another door, running quite fast as if away from something, and stopped dead when he saw them.

"And that's your dad," Jack whispered.

Melody swallowed. She stepped forward. Rory Williams stepped towards her too.

"Hi," he said. He blinked very fast. "Are you...are you here to see the cows?"

Melody shook her head. She took one more step towards her father, and then her nerve failed her. She turned and ran, but Jack ran after her. Rory called "Hey, wait!" after them, but Melody didn't turn back, and Jack caught up with her in a cornfield.

"Mels! Don't run off, I don't wanna lose you!"

Melody sniffed a little and looked at up him. She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it again. Then finally she said, "I wanna..." She trailed off and tried again. "I wanna...sleep. I should sleep. I want a proper bed. I want a _house_."

"There's the children's home," Jack said gently.

Melody glared. "That's another word for 'orphanage'."

"I know, but times have changed. You'll have your own room, and there's other kids, and grown-ups who'll look after you."

"I just want my parents," Melody said quietly.

"I know," Jack said. "You'll have them."

"I'll be like their sister," Melody whispered, staring at the ground.

"It's not so bad," Jack said. "I met a girl once, raised her son as her brother...it turned out okay. Mostly. I think. Was a long time ago." He shook his head. Melody ran her fingers through the plants surrounding her and looked up at him.

"I'm not like normal three-year-olds," she said.

"I'll say."

"I won't be normal."

"Who is?" Jack knelt down to face her. "Yeah. Mels. You may have to...act a little. You look human and for all intents and purposes you are human. But your parents, at the age they are now..."

"Couldn't handle knowing the truth," Melody finished.

"Yeah."

They moved out of the field and stood there in the light.

"Okay," Jack said. "Okay. Mels, I'm gonna go now. There's a children's home in Leadworth, and if you don't find it, someone will probably find you and take you there. By tonight, you'll be sleeping in a proper bed."

Melody looked at at him. "Thank you, Jack."

"S'alright."

"I hope you get over your fear of children."

Jack gave her a vague smile. "We'll probably meet again," he said, and he reached for his wrist. "Good luck." He pressed a button and vanished.

Melody stood alone. She took in the smell of the fields and the freshness of the air, and started walking.


	2. Morning

**Morning**

_Leadworth, spring, 1996_

"Poor little girl," Mary Angelo told Tabitha Pond in the butcher's. "When she turned up, all she knew was her Christian name. Couldn't give a surname. Couldn't give an address..."

"Have the police had any luck?" Tabitha asked.

"None. Well, we all can tell she was abandoned. Heartless beasts for parents. Poor little mite..."

Tabitha nodded in empathy.

"Couldn't even give her age. We think she's about five."

"And how's she...doing?" Tabitha asked. "Does she miss her parents?"

"Hard to tell. I think she could use some company her own age. It's mostly babies and teens up there. Why don't you bring little Amelia down?"

"I will." Tabitha said. "God knows she could use a friend who isn't imaginary."

"In that stage, is she?"

"She calls him the Raggedy Doctor. It's Doctor this and Doctor that. She draws him. Quite well, actually. Maybe I should start saving for art college."

"She's a talented one, make no mistake."

"She's a right handful at the moment."

* * *

><p>Amelia had spread her painting set out on Tabitha's desk, and orange paint had splattered on the floor. Tabitha was about to tell her off when she noticed another child in the room: little Rory, sitting on the chair in the corner.<p>

"Hello, kids. Amelia, I've told you before about your paints. Rory, do your parents know you're here?"

The boy shook his head. Then nodded it. "I told them I was gonna help Amelia with her art."

"I don't _need _help," Amelia said. "Mum, he's just sitting there."

"Are you okay, Rory?" Tabitha asked gently.

"Mum and Dad don't care where I am," Rory said glumly, and Amelia turned to look at him, curious. "Dad says I'm gonna have a new mum. He says I deserve a new mum." He looked so downcast at this that Tabitha actually went to hug him, as if he was her own child.

A look of worry crossed Amelia's face. "Mum. Rory's a boy, boys don't need hugs."

"They do," said Tabitha, as Amelia bit her lip. "Rory, it's okay. Just because they're, um, splitting up-"

"Are Rory's parents going to _leave _him?" Amelia demanded.

"No," said both the others at once. Rory sniffed loudly and pulled a tissue from his pocket, but Amelia either didn't notice or pretended not to. "Well," she said. "you can always live here. That'd be good, actually. You can meet the Doctor, when he comes."

"Rory," Tabitha said, ignoring all mention of the Doctor, "your parents still love you, you know."

Rory just nodded. Tabitha went to the desk and began clearing up the mess. "I have a favour to ask you two."

"What?" Amelia asked.

"There's a little girl just been taken into care up here. Her name is Melody. She doesn't have any friends yet, and she's lonely. I was hoping you two might come with me up to the children's home and meet her."

Amelia and Rory shared a look. "Yeah," Rory said, brightening up, "that sounds fun."

"Can I bring some toys?" Amelia asked. "She can't keep them," she added, "but she might like to play with them."

"Course you can. Rory, I'm just going to call your parents." Tabitha left the room, and Amelia and Rory remained. Amelia retrieved a tiny red car from under the desk.

"You always used to say you didn't want any more friends," Rory said.

"Meeting new people is always good," Amelia said. "The Doctor taught me that."

* * *

><p>The Pond family car pulled up outside the children's home. The house was painted blue on the outside. It had a sizeable front garden and a swing, and on the swing was a girl-<p>

"Is that her?" Rory asked.

"Yes," Tabitha said. "That's her."

Both children stared out at her. Amelia found herself placing her hand on the car window, quite unaware she was doing so. "She looks nice," she finally said.

"And she probably is," Tabitha said, letting the children out of the car. "I'm going to sign in at the front desk. You two go and talk to her."

She locked the car again and walked down the driveway, and Amelia and Rory stood looking at the small girl on the swing. Amelia took the initiave and walked forward. Melody saw them, gave a little jump-

"Hi!" Amelia called.

Melody stared at them as if she had never seen a human being before, and slowly came down from the swing. She moved towards them, taking each step as if afraid it would be her last, and said-

"Hello."

The three of them looked at each other. Amelia broke the silence. "I'm Amelia Jessica Pond. This is Rory Williams."

"Rory Cecil Williams," Rory said.

Melody swallowed. "Are you-" Something seemed to break inside her. "Can you be my mum and dad?"

Amelia and Rory stared at her. Rory said, "Um," but then another voice broke through.

"Sweetie, I don't know about that." Tabitha was back. "But they'll be your friends. Won't they, Amelia, Rory?" She looked down at the three of them, compassion in her eyes. "Amelia even brought you some toys."

"Yes," said Amelia. She held out a carrier bag. "You can keep them. If you like."

* * *

><p>The three of them moved to the living room while Tabitha had a cup of tea with Mrs Angelo.<p>

"I like this one," Tabitha said, picking up a doll.

"That's Mel B from the Spice Girls," Amelia said proudly. "But I don't like dolls anymore. Now I like boy's toys. I want an Action Man."

"Yes," Tabitha called from the other room, "we have spent quite a lot of money on Barbie dolls, only for you to decide you don't like them, Amelia..."

"But all you can do with them is play with their hair," Amelia said, "and I have hair already."

"You can have one of my Action Men," Rory said.

Melody looked at the two of them approvingly. "We should make up stories with them," she said, gesturing to the dolls. "People do that, don't they? Some of the girls here do. But they're old, like, _twelve_. I think it's silly, when you're old."

"I know. You can't play with dolls when you're old," Amelia said sagely. "But we can. And I suppose Rory can too, even though he's a boy."

Tabitha and Mrs Angelo went upstairs to check on the babies, and Amelia turned a little red-haired Barbie around in her hand. "I know a story," she said. "About a man called the Doctor."

"Who's the Doctor?" Melody asked.

"A really amazing man," Amelia said. "He's going to come back for me one day and take me off in his spaceship. Which is actually a box." Melody listened, wide-eyed. "Rory can come too, if he wants."

"What about your parents?" Melody asked.

Amelia considered this. "I dunno. I guess they'd have to come too. I don't really want them to, though. I mean, I'd be okay. The Doctor's an adult."

"There are good adults and bad adults," said Melody.

"The Doctor is a good one."

"Don't leave your parents," Melody said, but only Rory heard it, because Tabitha was calling Amelia upstairs to help. Amelia scowled. "Back in a minute," she said. She considered things for a second. "A _bloody_ minute," she said, and fled upstairs giggling. Melody giggled too. It was the first time she'd laughed.

"She doesn't usually swear," Rory said. "My dad told me she just does it for attention...but everyone does everything for attention..."

Melody smiled.

"I met you before, didn't I?" Rory said. "My dad was there. Who was that bloke you were with?"

"One of the social workers."

"My dad...he scared you, didn't he? Sorry about him." He looked down at the ground. "My parents are...getting divorced."

"That's bad, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

Melody pushed a toy car towards him. It bonked against his knee.

"Sorry..." Rory said nervously, as Amelia ran downstairs. "I shouldn't be complaining about my parents when you don't _have _any."

"I do have some," Melody said. "They just can't raise me. But I have them."

After an hour of playing with cars and dolls, Tabitha drove Amelia and Rory home. They were surprisingly quiet in the back seat.

"I didn't finish telling her about the Doctor," Amelia said. "She was interested."

"Amelia," said Tabitha, "you do know he's not real."

"He _is_ real," Amelia said, and Tabitha just sighed.

"Melody will be going to the same school as you two," she told the kids. "That'll be good, won't it? Maybe that will take your mind off the Doctor."

* * *

><p>A gaggle of girls stood around in the playground, while Amelia and Melody sat on the bench.<p>

"That's Kate Hayler. She's really horrible." Amelia said, pointing out a blonde girl with bright pink nails. "She's mean to Rory because he lives on the farm. She says he stinks of cow poo. We gotta look after him when she's around."

Melody nodded.

"Those others are her Hangers On. That's what Mum calls them."

Melody watched them. Kate tossed her beautiful blonde hair back and glanced over at the girls on the bench. She cast her eye over them for a little too long, and then turned to her friends with a smirk on her face.

"Yeah," Amelia said. "She'll pick on you cos you're new. Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"Don't they ever pick on you?"

"She stole my pencilcase once," Amelia said. "So I punched her in the face."

Melody giggled.

"When Rory gets here we can play The Doctor." Amelia said, changing the subject.

"Is Rory always The Doctor?"

"Yeah. He has to be. Cos we're his companions. He takes us on adventures."

"Like where?" Melody asked, leaning forward.

"Wherever you like. Last time we went to the water slide planet. We used the skateboarding park as slides."

"Cool."

Rory came running down from the dining hall. As he ran he took his school tie off and tied it into a vague approximation of a bow tie. He slid to a stop next to the girls. "Hi, Amelia. Hi, Melody."

"Hi Rory," Amelia said. She linked her arm into his. "You're the Doctor now. And me and Melody are your companions. We're gonna go on an adventure."

"Yeah," Rory said, instantly on the alert. He straightened his bow tie and tried to change his expression into one of utmost seriousness. "Where do you wanna go, Miss Pond...and Melody?"

"We don't know your last name," Amelia realised, looking at Melody.

"I didn't have one at first," Melody said. "The children's home named me."

"Are you okay with that?" Rory asked, at the same time Amelia asked, "What is it?"

"Zucker. The home's on Zucker Street. So that's what they called me."

Amelia and Rory considered it. "I like it," Amelia said. "It sounds like a type of sweet."

"Thanks," said Melody. She paused for a minute and added, "Also I want to be Mels. Not Melody."

"Why?"

Mels shrugged.

"Okay," Rory said. "You can be whatever. And I'll be...the Doctor," he added nervously.

"We can go anywhere," Amelia said. "Where do _you _want to go, Melody- Mels?"

Mels thought about it. "I wanna go to dinosaur times. And..." She looked Amelia in the eye. "I want my parents to come."

"Oh," said Amelia. She thought about it. "We can...be them," she said hestiantly. "We can act them. What were their names?"

"I don't know."

"Rory will be the Doctor _and_ your dad," Amelia said. "And I'll be me, _and_ your mum. Okay?"

"Okay," Mels said. And smiled.


	3. Afternoon

**Afternoon**

_Leadworth, winter, 1998_

After school one day in winter, Rory Cecil Williams made his way down the road leading to the old farm. After his father had moved in with Anna and his mother had gone to Italy the place had fallen into disrepair. The new owners had done their best, but the years had taken their toll, and now it was just a abandoned building, nothing like a home at all.

"Amelia," Rory called.

"In here," called an angry voice from inside the barn.

Rory went in. The place smelled like dust, and it was starting to rain. Amelia was sitting in the corner, on an old table, crying.

"Amelia-"

"Amy," said Amy. "I've had enough of Amelia. _He_ said it was a name from a fairytale."

"It is," said Rory nervously. "I mean...I like your name."

"I want to be Amy."

"Okay," Rory said. "Amy." He went to sit next to her on the table. She didn't move away.

"I hate that you've gone to the big school," she said, still angry.

"But you're ten now, you'll be there too next year."

"And I hate that _he's_ gone," she said, not listening to him. "Everyone leaves me. They say they'll stay and they leave."

"Amelia...I mean, Amy..."

"It's not fair," she said. "Everyone leaves! The Doctor left and he promised, and friends leave, and parents leave..."

"But your parents are here!"

For a very brief second, a flicker of confusion entered Amy's eyes and then was gone. "I know! I mean like Mel's parents! Where are _they_?"

"I don't know."

Silence fell.

"I just hate it," Amy finally said. "Everyone thinks I made the Doctor up, but he _happened_. And no-one believes me, they think I'm crazy! Except you and Mels."

Rory nodded worriedly.

"But if he was real, why would he _do_ this?" Amy said, talking more than to herself than to him. "Just leave me like this. It's like when your parents were going to go on holiday to Rome but they got a divorce instead. Sorry."

"S'alright."

"It's like he promised me the universe and didn't give it to me. Like he promised to be my _friend_ and then he wasn't."

"I...I bet he's still your friend."

"He's not coming back." Amy suddenly said, with absolute certainty. She jumped off the table and faced Rory. "He could do anything. He could've done anything. He could've got Mel's parents back, he could've stopped little kids being murdered, he could've stopped your parents divorcing..."

"He couldn't," Rory said, but Amy ploughed on regardless. "He could've gotten food to the people in Africa, and he could've stopped my Aunt Sharon having a mis...a miswhatever, and he could've stopped...everything! He could have stopped anything bad ever happening again. He could've given _Mels_ her parents."

Rory thought about it all, thought about it very hard.

"He couldn't have stopped everything," he said gently. "I mean...bad things will always happen, Amy, no-one can stop it. If Mel's parents died a long time ago, he couldn't bring them back."

Amy just shrugged.

"It doesn't matter anymore," she said. But it did. 

* * *

><p><em>Leadworth, summer, 1999<em>

"Me and Rory are going to see the new Star Wars movie," said Amy to Mels, as they did their hair in the toilets of Leadworth High. "Wanna come?"

"No," Mels said. "You two oughta go alone."

"It's not a date."

"Course not."

"Rory's like my..." She wanted to say the word _brother_, but somehow it wouldn't come out. "My best friend."

Mels just grinned.

"Wanna go outside and play Doctor?" Amy asked, but just as she spoke, Kate Hayler walked in. Her nails were blue this time, and so were those of her hangers-on, who trailed behind her like an encourtage. Amy stopped talking and folded her arms. Kate looked her up and down with a smirk.

"Did I hear the word _Doctor_, again? What Doctor is it, the imaginary one or the real one you gotta go to cos you're mental?"

"Shut your ugly face," Amy snapped.

"You're like, _eleven_, and you still have an imaginary friend."

"He's not imaginary," Mels said, and then, as Kate's gaze turned to her, she added, "you _bitch_."

Kate's friends gave mock-gasps, and Kate just laughed.

"Yeah," she said, "you're not even worth it, Melody Zucker."

"Get out of here," Amy said. "You and your stupid friends."

"Or what?" Kate asked. "You'll _call_ the _Doctor_?"

The door opened and Rory burst in. One of Kate's friends let out a scream.

"Amy! Mels!" Rory said. "What's going on?"

"Get out!" Kate yelled. "This is the _girls_."

"You should get out've here then," Amy said to Kate's back, as Mels snickered. Kate approached Rory, and poked him hard with her nails. Rory flinched.

"You're a bully," he said nervously.

"Really," said Kate.

"You're always picking on Am-" Rory began, but was cut off as Amy hurled her handbag at the back of Kate's head. Kate howled in rage and spun around, and Rory attempted to place himself between the girls-

"This is _pathetic_," Kate spat, as Amy crossly elbowed Rory out of the way. "At least my parents didn't _leave_ me for better people, Rory, or _ditch_ me in the street, Mels..."

Mels leapt at her. One of Kate's friends tried to stop her mid jump, and they all sort of crashed into a pile on the floor. Kate screamed. Amy looked at them for a second, then joined the fray, grabbed Kate's arm and bit it. Kate screamed once more, this time something obscene-

"What is _going on_?"

Miss Hadely, the PE teacher, stood in the door. She picked Amy up and set her down in the corner, untangled the other two-

"Fighting is unacceptable! And at your age! And Rory, what in the world are you doing here?"

"I came to help Amy," Rory said, blushing bright red.

"Out! All of you!"

They trapised out.

"Kate, Mels, Amy, headmaster's office, now. Rory...just go."

Rory went. 

* * *

><p>Tabitha picked both the girls up from school when the day ended. She sighed as Amy opened the car door.<p>

"Your headmaster called. Fighting, _again_, Amelia?"

"Amy!"

"_Amelia_. This is getting stupid. Was it that Kate again?"

"She was a bitch. She said Rory's parents abandoned him and Mels's ditched her."

Tabitha seemed torn. "You've just got to ignore her."

"But she's such a horrible cow," Mels cut in.

"Mels, you weren't fighting too, were you?"

Mels looked down and muttered, "No."

"You can't go round saying things like that to people and not expect them to hit you," Amy said. "Kate totally deserved it."

The car pulled out of the school car park and joined the main road. Tabitha sighed.

"There are much easier ways of dealing with people."

"The Doctor would have done it," Mels said. "The Doctor would have fought."

Amy looked at her. Wheels seemed to be turning in her mind. "Well...I dunno. He wouldn't have hit her. But he'd have done something."

"He should hit her."

"Enough about the Doctor," Tabitha said. "I don't want any more of this, you hear me, Amy? And Mels, Mrs Angelo and the others aren't going to be pleased."

Mels and Amy separately sulked. The car passed Kate, walking down the road- Kate, her sister, and her parents.

"Why does she have parents and I don't?" Mels said, pressing up against the window. "I wish it was the other way around."

"Mels," Tabitha said, "that's not a very nice thing to say."

Melody turned away from the window. The car drove on.


	4. Evening

**Evening**

_Leadworth, autumn, 2002_

"Do you ever think about your real parents?" Amy blurted out one day as she and Mels walked by the river. "I mean, d'ya ever think about tracing them or whatever?"

"Yeah," Mels said. "I think about them loads."

"Why don't you trace them? I bet you could get a social worker or whatever to do it."

"I don't wanna bunch of do-gooders looking into my past," said Mels. "It would suck." To illustrate her point, she kicked a stone into the water. "I don't mind living in a children's home, honestly I don't. It's fine."

Amy examined her closely, keeping in step with her as they walked. There wasn't much emotion in her eyes at all. "I'd mind," she said.

"I know they were good people," Mels said. "That's something, right? The most important thing."

They'd come to a bench, one that looked out over the river to the hills beyond, and as they sat down Mels reached into her pocket. She withdrew a sea-blue envelope and took out a letter, a crumpled and brown letter, and handed it to Amy.

"What's this?"

"It's from my mum," Mels said. Her voice was blank; she was watching to see what Amy did. "My real mum, s'one of the only things I got from her." She replaced the envelope in her pocket and Amy thought she saw a photograph in there, a photograph of a white woman with a white baby, but she couldn't be sure. She straightened out the letter and read:

_Dear Melody,_

_I hope you'll get to read this letter in peace and comfort, with a roof over your head and people who care about you. That's the main thing I hope for you, that you'll be loved._

_I wish I could tell you that I'll always be there for you. That me and your dad will raise you. But there are bad things in this world, and they took you from us. All we can tell you is that we will always be with you, no matter where you are or how far away. We know that you'll grow up to be strong, and wise, and brave, and we're sorry that we won't see you as an adult, facing the world._

_You will see us again sometime, even if it's in another world, we promise that._

_With all the love in the universe, your mother, A._

She read it twice, taking it in, aware of what a huge thing it was for Mels to share. It had been written on a typewriter, an old and fading typewriter. The T key had been broken, so that 'there' looked more like 'ihere'. Amy pictured a woman, a crying young woman, hunched over a desk in a tiny room. She shook off the image, folded up the paper and handed it back to Mels. A sadness was fighting its way to the front of her heart. "D'ya...d'ya know what 'A' stands for?" she asked.

"No," Mels said. "But her name isn't the important part."

"I guess not." Amy stared out at the river. "What do you think happened to them?"

"I don't know. But I think they're still alive." She stared intently at Amy. "They loved me. You can see that, right?"

"Yeah..." Amy said. Tears were forming behind her eyes, much to her displeasure. And images she couldn't place were flickering through her head: clutching the hand of a strict Aunt Sharon instead of her smiling mother; sleeping alone in a big house at night..."They did really love you. I think you are gonna see them again."

Mels nodded vigorously, and replaced the letter in the envelope. She did so very carefully, and Amy tried to see the photograph again, but it had fallen out of view.

"D'ya always carry it with you?" she asked quietly.

"Always," said Melody. 

* * *

><p><em>Leadworth, spring, 2003<em>

In his little attic bedroom, Rory moved things into boxes and taped them up. Mels watched from the bed.

"All the old toys are going to the children's home," Rory told her. "I've got some books you can have."

"Can I have your guitar?"

"No!"

Mels grinned. "S'alright. I want the books."

"S'mostly comic books, though. Superman and Spider-Man..."

"I like them."

Rory handed her a pile. They were old and battered, but still colourful. "Dad says I should've chucked them out long ago. He wants this room for a study now. I caved."

"I hate your dad."

"Really?" Rory looked at her worriedly.

"He's a racist. He calls me _coloured_."

"Oh..."

"He looks at me like I shouldn't be here."

"I...I'm sorry. I told him he, you know, needs to stop living in the past..." Rory turned away so she couldn't see the sad anger on his face, and plunged his fists into a box of toys. "He's...oh god, Mels, I'm sorry."

There was silence for a little while. Mels reached for a tiny red car on the bookcase and threw it from hand to hand. "What would you say if I told you my parents were white?"

"I'd say it was possible. I'm doing biology at A-Level now..." He couldn't quite force his pride at this out of his voice. "It happens. Genetics doing stuff..."

"They were," Mels said. "I think they were."

Rory looked at her thoughtfully.

"Which makes me wonder," Mels said, "what would happen if you and...Amy, say...had a baby, and it wasn't the same colour as you? Your dad would reject her in an instant. He'd go nuts. Cos he's a bad person, and it weirds me out a bit that he managed to raise _you_."

Rory thought about defending his father and decided not to. "He...yeah. He would. He'd go nuts. Just like he did when he found out my mum was having an affair." And for a minute something dark flickered in his eyes, a child witnessing things he shouldn't have seen. "Yeah. He would. But I wouldn't."

"So, you'd totally accept a daughter who wasn't the same colour?"

"Yeah. Course."

"Good," Mels said thoughtfully. Then, "You and Amy _should_ have a baby."

Rory laughed sadly. 

* * *

><p><em>Leadworth, summer, 2003<em>

Leadworth High's library was dark and dusty and few people bothered to go in. Mels and Amy sat in the darkest corner, poring over books on World War Two.

"Couldn't we just use the Internet?" Amy asked wearily.

"I like libraries," Mels answered. "Anyway, at the home I'll have to fight with nineteen other kids for the computer, and you'll have to fight with your mum."

Amy nodded vaguely and lifted a book. Mels was already engrossed in one. Time ticked slowly by.

"You don't want to go home either, right?" Amy asked. "They'll be mad when they find out you've got another detention."

Mels shrugged.

"You know what," Amy said, "you should probably stop doing that thing...where you stand up in class and blame stuff on the Doctor."

"I'm not _blaming_ him," Mels said in an odd tone. "I'm just pointing out the obvious."

"You said that the war happened because the Doctor couldn't stop it."

"Couldn't, or didn't?"

Amy stared at her. "One person couldn't have changed all that...you'd have to have changed _people_. Like, get right inside their heads and control them."

"It could have been done."

"But then something worse might have happened."

Mels looked down at her book, rather than up at her mother. "We don't know that _wasn't_ the worse thing. And he had a magic box, he was magic, he could have done something. He could've landed the TARDIS in Auschwitz."

Amy felt a chill, the dark chill that tells a child the adult world is close at hand. "I..." She paused. "I...we...we don't know that he _didn't_."

"He didn't," Mels said. "It would be in a book. It would be somewhere."

Amy opened her mouth to say something, to defend her friend against such a cruel judgement, against the creeping pain of a truth, but no words came out. She closed her book.

"I think I'm gonna go home," she said. Mels merely waved her away. 

* * *

><p>Rory lay on his bed, reading a medical textbook. His stepsister Julia was playing Busted records in her room, and downstairs his father was once more picking a fight with a blameless woman. He tried to block out the noises and focus on his book, but he couldn't, and then his mobile phone rang. He picked it up.<p>

"Hi, Amy."

"What's up? How's the studying going?"

"I..." Rory was embarassed to admit it was defeating him. "S'alright."

Amy was silent for a while. "Rory, d'ya think..." But then she changed the subject. "Hey. I wanna ask. You want to be a doctor now. Is it because of him?"

Rory thought about it and decided not to lie. "Bit."

"That's a rubbish reason to be a doctor. Because my magic man shares the name."

"No..." Rory sought the words. "I want to help people."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just do."

The conversation was awkward and it was getting awkwarder. "There's an end-of-term disco soon," Amy said. "You met anyone nice to go with?"

Rory swallowed. "No."

"I might take Jeff Angelo."

"R-really?"

"Yeah. He asked me. So did a bunch of others, but I wanna take him."

"Uh-huh," said Rory, as the battle raged downstairs. "Okay. Cool."

Amy paused. Rory suspected she could hear the noise. "What's going on down there?" she asked. "Is Anna being a bitch again?"

Rory sighed. "She's not a bitch."

"She called me a _slag_."

Rory winced. "I know...I'm sorry. She's just...very religious."

"She's awful."

Rory listened as downstairs, his father called Anna the word Amy had objected to. And he winced again. "They're...fighting right now."

"Oh," said Amy vaguely. She was quiet again and Rory figured she was trying to listen to them. "I can hear Busted," she said.

"Yeah. Sorry. Julia's."

After yet another pause Amy said, "You think they'll get divorced? Like, your mum and dad did?"

"I don't know," Rory said. "Dad, he's not...he's not great with girls. Women."

Amy made a snorting sort of noise. Then she said, "Your parents suck."

"No they don't."

"Most parents do," she said. Then the conversation drifted into pointlessness and the shouting downstairs grew ever louder. 

* * *

><p>"The school disco's in a few days," Amy said to Mels, as they slumped in her bedroom at the children's home. "Got anyone to go with?"<p>

"No."

"Maybe you should take Rory."

"_Ewwwwww_!"

"Alright," Amy said, surprised. "He's not that bad."

"Sorry." Mels closed her eyes, just for a second, for some reason. "I don't really wanna go."

Outside the room, other kids ran around on the landing. Mels threw a pillow at the door.

"What are you gonna do when you turn eighteen?" Amy asked, out of the blue. "You won't be able to live here anymore."

"Maybe I'll go off with you and the Doctor."

Amy smiled sadly. Mels turned on the radio. The news was on.

"Do you listen for aliens?" she asked. "I always listen for aliens."

"Sometimes," Amy said.

Mels started moving around her room, picking up the pillows. Amy noticed the blue envelope lying atop an old typewriter, and a Stevie Wonder poster rolled up in the corner. There were butterflies on the ceiling and photos on the walls, and it was all cosy and homely but it wasn't _Mels'_...

"You should live with me," Amy said. "When we turn eighteen."

"Okay," Mels said, straightaway. "Where should we live?"

"Wherever you want."

"Can we bring Rory?"

Amy laughed. "You sure you haven't got a thing for him?" But the look Mels gave her silenced her. "Sure, we can bring Rory. We'll all have a house together."

"With a blue door."

"Like the TARDIS? Okay."

"And pictures on every wall, and books on every shelf, and a pond...for you. A duck pond."

Amy grinned. "With actual ducks?"

"With actual ducks."

"It sounds lovely."

"It will be." 

* * *

><p><em>Florida, winter, 2003<em>

Amy awoke from a dream of Rory and Mels dancing at the school disco amongst the cheap flashing lights, something they had never done. It took her a few minutes to realise where she was: a hotel in Florida, asleep on the sofa in her parent's room...

"I didn't want to wake you," Tabitha said. "It's only nine in the evening. Me and your dad were going to go down to the theatre. And maybe pick up some Christmas presents."

"Oh," Amy said. "Right. Tired."

"You were running round all day like a mad thing. All three of you were. Rode Space Mountain five times, or you and Mels did." Augustus Pond entered, wearing a Toy Story tie. "Hey. The other two are dead to the world. Wanna come to the theatre, Amy?"

"Nope. Gonna stay and sleep."

Tabitha rose from her seat. "Right. See you later..." At a look from Augustus, she suddenly knelt near Amy. "Hey. There was something we wanted to ask. I know Rory is very sensible, but Mels..."

"What?"

"Are you quite sure it's..."

"..._cool_, for them to be sharing a room?" Augustus cut in.

Amy laughed. "Mum, Dad, Rory's gay."

This took them by surprise. "Are you sure?" Tabitha asked.

"Yeah. Think about it. When's he ever shown interest in a girl?"

"Never..." Tabitha said thoughtfully. "Certainly not Mels, and she's very pretty."

Augustus nodded slowly. "Plus, he wants to be a nurse and all..."

Tabitha rolled her eyes at him. "Okay. Well, glad we cleared that up. See you later, Amy."

"See you." 

* * *

><p>At almost exactly midnight, Rory woke up in the dark.<p>

"Mels," he whispered. "Hey, Mels."

Mels stirred. "Amy?" she said, in a sleepy voice that seemed to echo in from a distance.

"What? No, it's me, Rory. We're in Disneyworld, remember? For Christmas."

"Oh yeah." Mels turned around to face him. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I guess I don't sleep well in new places."

"I do fine."

"You were nicking stuff from the gift shop earlier, weren't you?"

Mels jolted a little at the sudden change of subject, and then laughed. "So what if I was?"

"You can't just steal things! Did Amy see?"

"No, she was flirting with the Johnny Depp lookalike outside Pirates of the Carribbean. I didn't take _much_."

Rory jumped off the bed and turned the light on. "You can't do that sort of thing! You'll get put in prison, or...shot or something!"

"Shot?"

"American police have guns!"

Mels just laughed. "Here." She reached under her bed and took out a expensive-looking golden pen. "Stuffed it under my jumper. Might sell for something on Ebay."

"Mels..."

"I got these too." She retrieved a bunch of DVDs. "I might keep some of them. I always liked _The Lion King_."

Rory sighed. "This is stupid. Why d'ya do it?"

"I just...do."

"But what about the people you're stealing from?"

"I'm sure they can afford it."

"It's wrong."

"Save the lecture, alright?"

Rory rolled his eyes and turned off the light. "I suppose you'll be stealing from us next? Me and Amy and our parents? What makes us different from anybody else?"

"I wouldn't do anything to hurt you," Mels said. She said it in a voice so quiet and so earnest that something odd happened- Rory realised he loved her like a sister.

"Just yourself," he said gently, in a tone an older brother would use. "Mels, please."

Mels sighed. "Alright. I'll try. Don't wanna get shot, after all. Now, no more lecturing, alright? You're not..." Rory waited for _my dad_. "The Doctor. You're not the Doctor."


	5. Sunset

**Sunset**

_Leadworth, spring, 2006_

Twelve children- toddlers, pre-teens, teenagers- were gathered around the television in the children's home. One of the youngest was crying, and Amy was trying to comfort him by bouncing him in her arms. Behind her were Mels and Rory, and behind them was a grey, mouthless, sunken-eyed alien.

"It took out Big Ben," Rory said, almost in awe. "S'like it was aiming for it."

Amy nodded distractedly. "We-" she began, and then stopped. The child in her arms squirmed away.

"We should call the Doctor," Rory said.

Amy looked at him. "Rory-" she said, and then stopped and stood up. She went through to the kitchen, and the other two followed. Then she put her head down on the table and cried.

Rory reached out for her, and so did Mels. Amy shook their hands away and said, "This is wrong! Everyone's panicking and...he's not here! He's not here to save me!"

"To save us," Rory said.

"To save..." Amy got up just as suddenly as she had sat down, and stared at the children in the living room. Mrs Angelo was outside, talking to the village's only policeman. And then-

"Oh my God!"

"What?" Rory asked anxiously. As he stepped into the room he broke her line of sight. "Amy?"

"Nothing," Amy said. And the alien, the one in the corner, was gone and forgotten. "Just...this! All of this! We can't do anything about it! We're powerless and he's not and he's not here!"

Mrs Angelo came back in. The younger children looked up at her expectantly.

"We're turning this off now," she said firmly, and she did. Mels rolled her eyes.

"Why can't we watch it?" she demanded. "I pay towards the TV license."

"No you don't, Mels, you borrow money off Rory and _he_ pays it," Mrs Angelo said crossly, as Rory examined the ground. "Anyway, this will all be revealed to be a hoax soon enough, and if it's not-" She faltered just for a second. "If it's not, it's under control, I'm sure. Okay? Mels, why don't you take everyone into the garden and play football?"

"Not a chance."

"Fine," Mrs Angelo said, and she marched outside. Gradually, the other children in the room followed her. Only Mels, Rory and Amy were left in the room. Rory's phone rang.

"Hi," he said. "Hey, Julia...oh, okay...are you going? I don't really...I wanna stay with Amy and Mels...well, Mary Angelo said it was probably a hoax...oh, _all right_." He put the phone down. "Anna and Dad went to the church," he said. "They want me and Julia to come. To...oh, I don't know, pray or something!" He threw his hands up in despair. "What should I do?"

"You should go," Mels said. She reached over to the television remote and hit the 'on' and then the 'record' button. On screen, in London, panicked people lined up in the streets. "It's not like there's anything you could do here. That's London and this is Leadworth. We're stuck."

Rory looked stricken. "I'm not leaving you and Amy."

"We'll come," Amy said suddenly. She stood up and retrieved her coat from the back of the sofa. "We'll come, Rory. Let's go." 

* * *

><p>Inside the cold, dark church, Rory's parents were waiting. Anna gave Amy a curt nod and knelt to the ground, next to Rory's dad, while the younger generation stood around.<p>

"I'm gonna get us drinks," Julia said. "Come on, Mels, help me get into the communion wine."

"With pleasure," Mels said, and the two girls left. Amy and Rory sat in a pew and watched as Anna whispered at the ground.

"..._who art in Heaven, please keep my daughter and stepson and husband safe. I am your humble servant. Please watch over my children, even though they may have strayed from Your path_- "

"Imagine that," Amy said quietly, "thinking there's something out there that'll save you only if you believe in it enough. What sort of god would behave that way?"

Rory said nothing.

Anna and Rory's father weren't the only people around: others were sitting quietly in the back of the church. The vicar was fiddling with some wires, trying to get a ancient old TV working. And somewhere far off, Julia and Mels were laughing...

Anna rose her head. Her eyes were filled with tears. "_These strange visitors, if they were indeed created by Your hand, please guide them also to Your light_..." Her voice echoed around the church. It seemed hopelessly over-the-top, almost laughable...

"Do you remember that letter Mels showed us, all that time ago?" Amy asked Rory. "The one signed 'A'?"

"Yeah?"

Amy looked at Anna and Rory followed her line of sight. "No!"

"It'd just be ironic, right? She's the only person we know whose name begins with A. And I always think Mels knows more about her parents than she lets on."

"But they've never even talked!"

"That we know of."

Rory thought about it. "She told me her parents were white."

"Exactly! Hey, you guys could be half-siblings, or step-siblings or whatever. Imagine that."

"Mels is already like my sister," Rory said slowly. "No way, Amy, it's way too coincidental."

Amy shrugged. The TV at the back of the church finally flickered into life. People at the back seats moved forwards and crowded around the small screen, and even Rory's parents stood.

The vicar flicked through the channels. Andrew Marr was outside 10 Downing Street and nothing much was going on. Stephen Fry was having a heated discussion with some journalist or other-

"This is boring," said Mels, who had returned with Julia. "I was promised aliens."

"Be quiet," said Rory's dad.

Mels retreated to the back of the church, flicking a finger up at him as she went. Julia, Amy and Rory followed. They sat together near the door, and listened to the tinny sound of grown-ups at the end of cameras, talking about the future.

"I'm going outside for a smoke," Julia said, and she left. The remaining three huddled close together.

"I like Julia," Mels said. "You should have a baby, Rory. Then she could be someone's cool aunt."

"She'd have to stop smoking first," Rory said. "If I have a baby no-one's allowed to smoke around it."

"_But the fact is_," Stephen Fry said, "_that even in these past hours, all of Britain- all of the world- we have embraced the idea of alien life_-"

"_Why_ isn't the Doctor here?" Amy said.

"Maybe he is," Mels said. "Maybe he just didn't come see you. Because it would be dangerous or whatever."

"Maybe."

"He could be saving the world right now," Rory said hopefully.

They watched the adults in front of the television, knelt in silent prayer.

"I should call my mum," Rory said.

"Why hasn't she called _you_?" Mels asked.

Rory shrugged. He took his phone and went outside, and the girls were left alone.

"What d'ya make of Anna?" Amy asked Mels, as the woman in question lit candles.

"She's mental."

"Fair enough." Amy said. Night fell. 

* * *

><p>Amy, Mels and Rory all slept in the church- they all dreamed seperate dreams, but in each of them a grey creature appeared, hissing like the Earth's first snake, the one that'd taken down Eden, the very reason all churches stood. <em>The worst is yet to come<em>, it said. None of them remembered it when they awoke.

"I'm never sleeping in a church again. It's cold and my back hurts." Amy said. "What happened?"

They had slept in sleeping bags in the church hall: Rory exited the room first. He was gone five minutes and then returned. "10 Downing Street blew up," he said. He was quite pale. "And the Prime Minister's dead. No-one knows what happened."

Mels and Amy were silent.

"And no sign of the Doctor?" Amy finally asked.

"No. It's all chaos. Dad and Anna are going home. Julia's at her boyfriend's. We should go."

They went- they left the sleeping bags in a pile in the corner of the hall, left through the old wooden door, and walked through the graveyard. They went by the river, towards Amy's house. And then they got there, and Tabitha made pancakes.

"Thanks for telling me you were sleeping at the church," she said sarcastically to her daughter.

"Sorry."

Augustus was browsing the web from his laptop. "Hoax," he said thoughtfully. "They're all saying it's a hoax. Terrorism."

"A hoax _and_ terrorism?"

"Yep."

"Guess we'll need a new Prime Minister," said Tabitha.

"Let's get the Doctor in," Mels said. "I bet he could do the job."

Tabitha smiled tightly. "Mels, won't Mrs Angelo wonder where you are?"

"They've got, like, ten other kids to keep tabs on."

"You should probably pop your head in now and again, though."

Mels shrugged, picked up her remaining breakfast, and left with a wave. Amy's cat hopped onto the table and tried to snuggle up to her.

"I should go too," Rory said. "Band practise."

"Who's in your band?" Tabitha asked.

"Just...ur, just me at the moment," Rory said sheepishly, as Amy laughed. "There's not many other people who play round here."

"Remember that summer?" Amy asked her mum. "When Rory got a stupid haircut and faked like he was in a band?"

"How could I forget."

"He learned to play the guitar then. Like, for real. He's quite good actually." Rory blushed. "He even writes his own songs."

"Very good," Tabitha said. "We should get you on X Factor."

"He's better than that," Amy said, and she leaned across and kissed him on the cheek. Rory blushed again, bright crimson. Amy smiled and turned away. In the corner, something grey briefly flickered into being, then was gone- 

* * *

><p>When the living room in the children's home was empty, Mels went downstairs, sat in front of the television, and turned on her recording. The faces of anxious people flickered across the screen- men, women, children- a man in a leather jacket.<p>

Mels paused the tape.

"It's you, isn't it?" she whispered. "I know most of your faces. I knew you'd be in London somewhere. So you fixed it all, huh?"

The man on the TV screen flickered and broke. Mels leaned forward. "Doctor. Knew it. Hello, _sweetie_."


	6. Night

**Night**

_Leadworth, winter, 2006_

On Christmas Eve, Rory dreamt about his father punching his mother in the face. It was a recurring nightmare and he suspected it would never leave him, even though he was now nineteen and a grown man. Sort of. Grown _enough_. It had happened one winter, when the world was cold and he was huddled under covers, five years old, the _thwack_ and the yell. She'd behaved like a slag, his father had said. She'd behaved like a slag and she'd deserved what she'd got...

It had never happened again, but once had been bad enough.

"Rory," said a voice. "Rory."

Rory put the pieces together and realised it was Mels. He tried to remember where he was. He suspected he was at Amy's house, sleeping on the floor, the floor of the living room, the girls were upstairs, it was Christmas...his mother was far away and his father wasn't there...

"Hey, Mels."

"Turn on the television," Mels said, and Rory felt his heart sink. Amy and her parents weren't there- Amy hadn't come to wake him- all the Christmas presents still sat under the tree-

"Mels, what happened? Where's Amy?"

Mels turned the television on for him. Kneeling on the ground, looking up at the screen, Rory saw it. Up in the London sky was a spaceship, and down on the ground below were people. And up on every roof, on every high place, there were people there too.

"Why is everyone up there, Mels? Mels?"

Mels pointed out of the window, in a move Rory found reminiscent of the Ghost Of Christmas Future, pointing to Scrooge's grave. He looked, and he could see the church, and people were standing on the roof-

The newsreader on the TV was talking, but Rory talked over her. "Mels! Where's Amy? Where's her parents? What's going on?"

"Well," Mels said, "aliens have taken a third of the world hostage. Based on blood type. And Amy...she's on the roof of the church. With her parents. Being controlled. I reckon if they don't get what they want, this lot, they'll kill her and everyone." Her expression was frighteningly blank. And Rory looked at her, really looked.

"Mels. It's gonna be okay. Amy's gonna be okay."

"Guess who isn't around?" She gave a little laugh. "The _Doctor_? My God, you're right!"

Rory grabbed her hand. "Mels, you gotta show me where Amy is, okay? We can save her." And Mels wrapped both sets of her fingers around his, like a little girl, and led him outside, through the garden, past the long-since-fixed shed, to the church-

It was crowded. Rory thought he saw Anna at the front of the church, but he couldn't be sure. Mels lead him to a door, up some stairs, to the roof. And there, amongst many others, inbetween her parents, was Amy-

Rory ran to her. She didn't react to him, just stared forward vacantly.

"Amy? Amy? Are you in there, Amy?"

"She's not in there," came the voice of Rory's dad, and he turned around to face his father. "None of them are in there. So you didn't deign to spend Christmas with us, young man, but here we are anyway."

Rory ignored him, and held on to Amy. "We need to do something in case they fall. Mels, you grab Tabitha. Dad, you grab Augustus..."

"The television said to leave them alone."

Anna came up on the roof, followed by Julia. Both were in their nightclothes- Julia in purple pyjamas, Anna in a long white nightie.

"Julia," Mels called, "get over here and grab Augustus for me, Mr Useless here isn't going to." Rory's father shot her a poisonous look, and went over to talk to his wife. Rory continued to hold Amy, feeling her breathe, hoping she wouldn't mind this closeness when she awoke...

"Hey," Julia said. "TV's on downstairs. Harriet Jones was bein' all weird. She was asking for a doctor."

"What?"

"All capital letters, a Doctor. Like your Doctor."

"Amy's Doctor."

"No," Mels said, holding her grandfather's hand, "he's all of ours."

Somewhere a phone rang. Rory's dad answered it. "Your mother," he shouted across the roof at Rory. "She wants to talk to you!"

Rory turned to Mels. "Mels, can you hold Amy? Look after her? I know you can."

"Course," she said, and wrapped her arms around her in a one-sided hug. Rory went and took the phone. Julia went towards Anna, who had started to cry...

Mels was holding her mother.

"Hey," she said. No-one else was in earshot; no-one around could hear. "Mum."

Amy did nothing, just stared ahead. The cold breeze was blowing her hair.

"Mum. Yeah, you're my mum. But I'll never get to call you that, maybe not ever, I dunno. I want to. You would have been a great mum. We'd have had a laugh together, every day."

"Anna," Rory's dad was saying, far off in the distance, "really, pull yourself together - think of the children-"

"There's a lot of bad people in the world," Mels whispered. "I know that, and you're sure as heck gonna know that, one day. You and Dad. You got denied _everything_. But I wanna make it okay." A police siren wailed in the distance. "The Doctor did this to you, you know, he's the reason you're standing here about to jump. And he's not gonna catch you, cos where is he? Not here, not in Leadworth, stupid little Leadworth. He's like a bloody _god_, and he went and made you a walking Bible. Amelia Pond, the girl with all the stories. Lots of good ones. But so many bad ones."

Rory finished his conversation, gloomily returned the phone to his dad and walked towards them.

"Mum," Mels whispered in her ear. "I do love you, you know. I love both of you. Mum and Dad and Melody, a family, all together, it's gonna be okay." She broke away. Rory came up to her and took her hand.

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah. She hasn't moved. What'd your mum want?"

"Just to check on me."

Mels moved as Rory checked Amy's pulse. There was no reason to, not really, but he _was_ a nurse. "She's fine in every way. It's just her mind..." He trailed off and looked over at the rest of his family. His father had gone downstairs, and only Anna and Julia remained.

"Remember I said once how weirded out I was that someone like your dad managed to raise someone like you?" Mels said thoughtfully. "Well, I still mean it. You and Julia both. How you came from those two, how you managed to be good people..."

"Anna's alright," Rory said glumly. "Most of the time. She should really just leave him."

They watched as Julia stormed away from her mother in disgust, and as Anna followed her, shouting about something Rory couldn't hear. He turned back to Amy.

"I love Amy. So much. Think she knows?"

"I think she does."

Time ticked slowly down and then there was a shout from the other side of the rooftop. Rory and Melody turned- everyone on the edge of the roof stepped forward-

"No!" screamed Rory, and his daughter screamed it too. He grabbed Amy, held her tight, tried to pull her away- and then there was a flicker of light, and she toppled backwards onto him. Mels gave a screech, dived down next to them-

"What the _hell_ is going on?" roared Amy. She craned her head to see her parents. "I was in bed, it was Christmas, what the bloody heck happened?" Her dad, in a daze, pulled her up.

"It was aliens," Mels said loudly, as she gave Rory a hand to pull himself up with. "They hypnotised a third of the world. They were gonna kill you!"

Amy stared around in bewilderment. Rory gave her an embarassed little wave.

"You all stepped towards the edge," Mels explained. "Then you just stopped. You would've gone off, you would've jumped..."

Amy brushed her hair from her face, and clung to her father's hand. "You two..." A smile slowly broke over her face. "You were trying to save me, right? C'mere!" She pulled Rory and Mels into a hug. Both of them clung on for dear life, and Rory closed his eyes, lost in the moment, until his father's voice shattered it.

"Seems to be over! Anna's finished her hysterics, and Julia's somewhere around...how's about coming back with us, young man, your family? You've been keeping your distance, as of late." Julia appeared on the roof, smoking a cigarette. "We think you've kept your distance long enough." He suddenly whipped around, face red and mouth spitting. "Put your bloody cigarette _OUT_, Julia!" And, as Julia jumped, he turned back. "Rory, come with us and have a proper family Christmas."

The universe waited, but it didn't have to wait very long. "Alright," Rory said, and put his arms around Amy and Mels. "I'll go and do that. Me and my family. You coming, Julia, Anna?" They walked across the roof, past the spluttering man, and downstairs. Julia smirked, threw her cigarette at her stepfather's feet, and followed them.

Anna did not.

Tabitha and Augustus eyed the other adults. "Not to worry," Augustus said perkily, "we've got a whopping great Christmas dinner planned for all four of them, everyone gets looked after at our house."

"I don't know which of those girls is the worst influence," Mr Williams spat, "the street child or _your_ child."

"Well," Tabitha cut in icily, "perhaps we could all sit down with your first wife, and have a look through the divorce file, and those photos she had me take of her face, and then talk about bad influences, Robert." She marched past him, Augustus following with his head held high. As the family gathered in the graveyard, ash began to fall from the clouds. 

* * *

><p>In the Pond family household, Julia made up a bed in the spare room. Tabitha helped her, and she was just getting her a pair of Amy's old pyajamas when Augustus came in.<p>

"Look at this," he said, his voice almost cracking, "it's _adorable_."

Tabitha and Julia followed him through to Amy's room. Amy and Rory lay on the bed, fast asleep, and Mels was huddled up between them like a little girl. Like parents and a daughter, just after Christmas day...

"You know what's odd," Tabitha said, breaking the silence but speaking in a whisper, "when we first met Mels, she asked if Amy and Rory could be her mum and dad. And look at them now. I've never seen friends be closer."

Julia was less impressed. "Are we quite sure none of them have been having sex?"

"No!" Tabitha said, outraged.

"I always thought Amy held a candle for young Rory," Augustus said, as they made their way downstairs. "Shame, he turned out to be gay and all..."

Julia laughed. "He's not gay!"

"What?"

"He's not gay! He fancies your daughter like mad!"

"He's not gay?" Augustus was agast. "But he's a _nurse_." 

* * *

><p>The night drew on, and Melody Pond woke up. With her parents still sound asleep, she tiptoed downstairs. There was a familiar name blaring out from the TV: <em>Doctor, Doctor, Doctor<em>...

She crouched on the stairs and watched from there. Her grandparents and her aunt were all slumped on the sofa, finishing the last of the mince pies, and on screen the news was repeating Harriet Jones' curious appeal...

"If you can hear me, Doctor, if anyone knows where he is..."

And Tabitha stirred and sat up. "Gus," she said. She poked her husband. He stirred too. "Julia awake?"

Augustus glanced over at her. "Nope."

"This Doctor thing. The Prime Minister was _talking_ about him. Like he was a...person."

Augustus nodded nervously. "Internet says she was asking for a real doctor. You know. A physician."

"It's a codename," Tabitha said intently. "It's gotta be. Our daughter met someone real that night, didn't she? Someone in deep with the government. Someone very dangerous."

"Not necessarily..." Augustus glanced at the stairs, and Mels thought he would see her, but it was dark and he didn't. "It could've been...just her imagination getting away...Tabs, what should we do?"

"Don't tell her about it," Tabitha said firmly. "Don't mention what the PM said, not ever, it'll drive her nuts. She'll probably never know, she never reads the papers, doesn't watch the news...just don't tell her, alright, Gus?"

"Alright."

Mels looked around the room. On the television Harriet Jones was declaring her innocence, and outside ash was piling up on the windowsill. The world thought it was snow, but she knew it was ash, and she wondered who else knew...

"I'll find you," she whispered. "You'll have gone now, you'll always do that. But I'll find you eventually. And then there'll be _snow_."

She crept back upstairs, and fell asleep between her parents.


	7. The next day

**The next day**

_London, autumn, 2011_

Amy stood in the new house, watching the sky, wondering if her best friend would return to marry her daughter. If any sort of happy ending lay ahead.

"Amy," called Rory from upstairs, "you'd better get up here..."

She went, wondering what she'd find, and hoping for the best. She got what she hoped for. Rory was kneeling by the bed, and in it, bundled up in pink bedclothes, looking just like the little girl they'd lost-

"_Melody_."

"The Doctor must have known she'd be here," Rory whispered. "Here, today. So we could see her."

Amy reached for her face. Melody didn't wake. "Mels," she whispered. Then she stood up and looked around the room. "Hey, look." On the walls were pictures, photographs of the three of them. Old ones, taken by Tabitha and Augustus, and newer ones taken with a camera phone-

"There's us at Disneyworld at Christmas," Rory said sadly. "And there's Julia's eighteenth."

"There's you with a stupid haircut," Amy said, and started to cry. Rory held her. She clung to him for almost two minutes, crying into his shoulder. Then she wiped her eyes and knelt once more by the bed.

"Should we wake her?" Rory asked worriedly. "She might have just got back from...I dunno...fighting the giraffe monsters of Whipsnade 5 or something."

"I can't take my eyes off her," Amy said, hands folded on the bed. "She has your nose. Which is very odd when you consider she regenerated."

"Yeah."

"It's so...strange. I mean, she's like a teenager, isn't she? All hormones and snogging. We've got a teenage daughter."

"Well," Rory said, "I'd better have a word with her boyfriend." And they burst into laughter. It took them a moment to realise that someone else was laughing too.

"Mum, Dad," Melody said, sitting up in bed. "S'good to see you!"

Amy and Rory were by her side in an instant. Amy kissed her forehead: Rory took her hand. "Where have you been?" he asked worriedly. "I mean, how did you end up here? We're glad to see you, Mels, we're so glad to see you..."

"Relax, Dad," Melody said brightly. "I _am_ a student now. Off doing studenty things."

"Drinking?" Rory panicked. "Ending up on a strange sofa with your eyebrows shaved off?"

"Actually I was excavating a tomb on Raxacoricofallaporius."

"The who in the what?" said Amy, who had moved beside her daughter on the bed.

"Full of farty green aliens."

"You do love a tomb," Rory remembered. "Was the Doctor there?"

Melody smiled. "He's always around."

For a few moments there was silence in the room. Outside, somewhere in the garden, there was the creak of a swing blown by the wind.

"Will you stay?" Amy asked. "For a little while. Please stay."

"We know we can't stop you living your own life," Rory said. "But we...we think about you every day."

Melody gave a smile and climbed slowly from the bed. She went to look at the wall of pictures. "The Doctor put these up, didn't he? That man." She ran her fingers down an image of three ghosts, three young children on Halloween. "You did a good job raising me, Mum, Dad."

"We didn't raise you," Amy said sadly. "We wanted to. We wanted to raise you like a normal kid."

"Dad's a thousand-year-old Roman centurion and you're a time-traveller with a magic brain," Melody said. "I had _no_ chance of being normal."

Amy smiled, a little, and went to the window. "The Doctor's given us this whole house," she said to Mels. "And there's three bedrooms, two bathrooms, the lot. It's a family home. It's for all of us."

"I think I can live with that."

"Melody...will you always come back here?" Amy asked, and she clutched her husband's hand. "Whenever you can, whenever you have a spare moment saving planets, saving the Doctor...will you come back for us?"

"Look in your jacket pocket."

A moment of understanding passed between them all. Everyone in the room knew what Melody meant, but the moment was important nonetheless. Amy reached into her pocket and withdrew a small, green, leaf-like token-

"It's here," she said. "The prayer leaf. That poor girl's prayer leaf." And she wiped a tear from her eye. "And she told me, she told me..."

"That as long as you kept it with you, your child would always return to you," Melody said. "I'm pretty up on Forest mythology, been there loads. Do you always carry it with you?"

"Always."

"Here I am. Here I'll be."

Amy raised the prayer leaf to her lips and kissed it. Then she put it in her pocket. Rory gave a thoughtful smile.

"Well," he said. "We're all here now. We're together. What would you like to do, Mels?"

"You know, it's nearly Christmas," Melody said cheerfully. "Be nice to have Christmas here. I hear there'll be _snow_." 

* * *

><p><em>Somewhere in time<em>

Jack Harkness flickered into being in the TARDIS. The Doctor was standing by the console, waiting for him. "How'd it go?"

"One small child, returned to her parents."

The Doctor smiled sadly. "In the only way we could." He turned to his console screen and hit various buttons. "Thanks, Jack. Oh, and thanks for lending me that million pounds. Just covered the house, car, and movers. Oh, and I left Amy a nice new wardrobe. She's gonna be a _model_, you know." He grinned proudly.

Jack watched him, perhaps bemused by the way he seemed to be zipping through emotions so fast. "You've had a rough day, huh."

"I _died_, Jack."

"Join the club!"

The Doctor smiled. "I oughta drop you off. I'm sure the Earth needs you more than I do. Grab a lever and give me a hand."

Jack did so. As the TARDIS wobbled and creaked and careened through space, the Doctor hit a button on the console, observed a screen, and laughed.

"What?" Jack called.

"Small snowstorm over Amy's part of England. Just in time for Christmas."

"Your doing?"

"Oh no," the Doctor said, surprised. "The universe did it all by itself. It does that, sometimes." He pulled another lever and the TARDIS shot towards Earth. "Come on, Jack. It's almost the holidays. We've got _family_ waiting."

THE END


End file.
